Tamiya King Cab Restauration

[ThomasI 30]

Hi Tamiya Retro Fans!

About a month ago I got good advice here on my Traxxas Gearbox project. Thank you again! Well... it is more or less done!
I went so far and replaced not only the gearbox but also the lower arms, uprights and axles with new Traxxas ones. The result is a MONSTER! But it works brilliant.

Check out my first test Video. More videos will follow!

The restauration as it stand now:
- new TBG replacement body + MCI Racing decals
- Light Kit
- Cockpit with articulated driver head.
- Gopro mount inside cockpit

Hope you like the action!

[kontemax 1614]

Nice!
Can we have detailed pictures of your modifications please?

Cheers

Max

[ThomasI 30]

19 hours ago, kontemax said:

Can we have detailed pictures of your modifications please?

Sure!
These are some details in various states of the built. This car is meant for driving but not for bashing. All additions are therefore built to take some beating but not brutal abuse.

This was the original state after 30+ years of storage:

Driver setup:

Articulated Head:

Light Setup (still missing the cockpit illumination)

Traxxas Gearbox and rear suspension:

TBG/MCI Body and Schumacher tires

[kontemax 1614]

I really like it.
I also like the rear arms.
Why didn't you do it on the front arm also?

Max

[ThomasI 30]

5 hours ago, kontemax said:

Why didn't you do it on the front arm also?

For now I see no need to change the front suspension. I don’t even know if it would be possible.

Actually I initially planned to keep the King cab rear arms. For that reason I cut down the (first) Traxxas gearbox hosing to make it fit the King Cab. It turned out that I had to make too many compromises in getting the power to the wheels.

It came in handy that the Traxxas Gearbox has the mounts for the lower arms integrated in the mold.
(This is the part: https://traxxas.com/products/parts/3695   ... cheaper than a replacment diff for the King Cab!  )

So I got a new (second) housing and the Traxxas rear arms (only €9!!!). And I had to make some additional modifications to the King Cab: cut the bottom plate and in addition, the upper arms are lengthened and connect to the optional mounting points – to better fit the new geometry.

Over all a very good fit, insanely powerful and spare parts are readily available and reasonabely priced!

I might make a "how-to video" one day.

[ThomasI 30]

Follow up Video: 

 

[ThomasI 30]

My next project in the King Cab: a digital dashboard for my drivers. Still missing ideas how to best mount the screen in the cockpit.
If anybody is interested, I can publish the code when finished.

 

[Nikko85 2404]

This is insane, I love it! + 10 points for Terminator reference. 

[ThomasI 30]

On 11/14/2022 at 2:23 PM, Nikko85 said:

This is insane, I love it! + 10 points for Terminator reference. 

Insane? I agree! Hahahah!

Anyway here in the forum, we are all grow men who are driving around small useless cars for no good reason. So installing an ATMega microcontroller board and an I2C data-bus to run a dashboard that nobody is able to look at, while driving my 30+ year old small useless car, is right within common insanity levels… I love it!

Hahaaha!

 

Btw: (off-topic) I also made a swimming RC duck – based on a 1:1 scale plastic hunting decoy duck. (it can go faster than real ducks!) My next microcontroller Projekt is, to make the RC duck “quack”.

[RushRebel 96]

Great build, the drivers look excellent!!! Love the King Cab, IMHO it's Tamiya's best looking 2wd truck after the original Ford badged Blackfoot.

I have a pile of new RPM and other hop ups that I was going to use on a Slash build but ended up keeping it stock. Ironically, I was just thinking the other day about how cool it would be to use them to bullet-proof a King Cab, should Tamiya ever rerelease it. 

[ThomasI 30]

On 11/17/2022 at 2:31 AM, RushRebel said:

I have a pile of new RPM and other hop ups that I was going to use on a Slash build but ended up keeping it stock. Ironically, I was just thinking the other day about how cool it would be to use them to bullet-proof a King Cab, should Tamiya ever rerelease it. 

I really like to improve the old King Cab! there is so much space in this car to get creative. And I always try to keep the outside look as stock as possible.
Here is my lastest update: the digital dashboard is in the car.

 

[RushRebel 96]

10 hours ago, ThomasI said:

I really like to improve the old King Cab! there is so much space in this car to get creative. And I always try to keep the outside look as stock as possible.
Here is my lastest update: the digital dashboard is in the car.

 

You are definitely a mad scientist, I love the digital dash and well…pretty much everything else you’ve done. 

While not a very competitive truck upon release (compared to Rc10T, Jrxt, Outlaw Ultima) the King Cab always seemed to me like it should have been marketed as the successor to the Blackfoot as Tamiya’s main 2wd monster. 
The big tub chassis always gave it that monster look. I really hope it’s rere’d. I’ll part out the transmission and other bits and build it with the RPM Traxxas parts.

[ThomasI 30]

I made a video introducing my crazy King Cab. Part one is about my solution on the drivers, the digital dashboard and all the other add-ons. Part two will focus on the Traxxas Slash Gearbox conversion. I hope you like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbm1FKHeaz4

 

 

[ThomasI 30]

Here we go: Part 2 - How to convert a Tamiya King Cab for a Traxxas Slash transmission. 

 

 

[RushRebel 96]

Excellent videos! I like how you used magnets and velcro to do as little modification to the actual vintage chassis. The interior Gopro camera fits like it was made for the truck.

 The digital dash is great, but I think my favorite mod is the clever way that you use the steering servo to also turn the drivers head.

[ThomasI 30]

I was already asked to provide a list of parts. I also share it here if anybody wants to do the same conversion:

Traxxas Parts:

• Gearbox TRX3695
• Motor Spacer TRX3790
• Drive axle connection TRX4628R
• Drive axle TRX1951
• Lower arms TRX2555
• Suspension pins TRX3640
• Uprights/Wheelhub TRX3752
• Wheel axle TRX2753X
• Hex+Pins TRX1654 (Info: if you drive original rims, they need slightly wider/longer Hex adapters – if you drive other rims, they might fit just fine)
• Spacer TRX1985

 

Non Traxxas:

• P48 Pinion gear for your motor
• M3 Screws, Nuts, spacers
• M4 threaded rod for lengthen the upper arm.

One thing to keep in mind:
The transmission is insainly powerfull compared to the original. All my mods add about 0.85 kg to the car. While a portion of this is the transmission itself, I also have a lot of extra wight in the front. But even with all the extra load I need to be very carefull on the throttle. You might need to add some weight in the forward section to keep the front end down.

[Torva 0]

What motor did you install? 

[ThomasI 30]

Actually the it is just a general brushed motor from a cheap RTR buggy. I bought this buggy in the beginning of my restoration to gut it for parts. The motor is one of them. you can still see the rear wing of this buggy and some upper arms holding up the rear end of the drivers mount.

However, this motor is WAY TO POWERFULL AND FAST for my taste and I am looking for a more sensible solution. For now it is limitted to 70% power output.

May sound strange... but I dont care to much about the motor 

[Sgt.Speirs 944]

Hello ThomasI,

I'm a bit ambivalent about your modification regarding the transmission. On the one hand, a great improvement/replacement for the original transmission, on the other hand, original parts of a vintage King Cab must be damaged / "destroyed".
And what is the result at the end of the day? You have a reliable transmission in a 30 year old fragile chassis

If you like the look of the King Cab (body), wouldn't it make more sense to adapt (for example) a Traxxas Stampede chassis to fit the King Cab body on it?
Because (be carefull, my opinion) a Tamiya fan or person who has a relationship or nice memories to his old King Cab (from his childhood) will preserve parts from damage and will avoid modifying/"damaging" a vehicle/parts which is/are in good condition.

Regarding your dashboard/cockpit...awesome sh*t 

[ThomasI 30]

Believe me, I was struggling with this point by myself. Should I or should I not. In the end the major point was for me, to seeing it drive gain. But seeing it drive like my teenage-self imagined it drive some 30 years ago.

I mean, I always “saw” these drivers sit inside. In my imagination, I was looking out the windscreen, seeing the gauges moving and having this powerful engine in my back. In a way I am just finishing what I have started (or better: wasn’t capable of doing) as a boy.

So the slippery original diff wasn’t an option and I looked out for an RC10+conversion kit for a while. But they are simply out of reach.

I was as careful as possible in the process. I did not dare to lay the first cut on my original chassis, before I tested the full procedure with an old cracked chassis. And – as a sidenote – I am in the lucky position to have found another chassis-tub in great condition. This second one will not be touched!

Would it have been more sensible to place a King Cab Body on an Traxxas Stampede chassis? Yes, absolutely!

Would it be the car, that started to build in my youth and that I am just finishing 30 years later. No!

And if I break the chassis when driving into a rock – so be it! I will know, this King Cab crashed because it was, what it was supposed to be all the time: the powerful machine of my teenage dreams.  (and I have spare parts!)

[Sgt.Speirs 944]

20 minutes ago, ThomasI said:

...
So the slippery original diff wasn’t an option and I looked out for an RC10+conversion kit for a while. But they are simply out of reach.
...

You could have taken the 3D printed gear case (+ TRF201 gear box parts) from my transmission conversion thread 

[ThomasI 30]

11 minutes ago, Sgt.Speirs said:

You could have taken the 3D printed gear case (+ TRF201 gear box parts) from my transmission conversion thread 

Oh! Wow! I have missed that one! That would have been a great option as well... hmmm... I still have that one second chassis

[ThomasI 30]

Part 3 is out: 

 

[kontemax 1614]

This Cab is crazy.

Max

[Ferruz 8539]

Amazing work @ThomasI! The go pro mount behind the driver cockpit is an excellent idea for next level videos! And about the digital dashboard, I don't even know how to describe the feeling when I saw it. Top notch stuff, and loving the philosophy of keeping it all discrete behind box art-ish looks. Stunning 👌